MMegaConvert

Convert TAR to TAR.GZ

Free online TAR to TAR.GZ converter. No signup required.

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How to Convert TAR to TAR.GZ

Follow these simple steps to convert your file in seconds.

  1. 1

    Upload your .tar file

    Drag and drop your .tar file into the upload area, or click "Browse" to select it from your device. Your file is uploaded securely and processed on our servers.

  2. 2

    Click "Convert to TAR.GZ"

    Once your file is uploaded, press the convert button to start the TAR to TAR.GZ conversion process.

  3. 3

    Wait for the conversion to complete

    The conversion usually takes just a few seconds. You can see the progress in real time while your file is being processed.

  4. 4

    Download your converted .tar.gz file

    When the conversion is finished, click the download button to save your new .tar.gz file. The file is ready to use immediately.

Understanding TAR and TAR.GZ Formats

Learn about the source and target file formats to understand what happens during conversion.

Source Format

Tar Archive

application/x-tar

TAR (Tape Archive) is a Unix archive format that bundles multiple files and directories into a single file while preserving file permissions, ownership, timestamps, and symbolic links. TAR itself performs no compression; it is purely an archival format. TAR is almost always used in combination with a compression tool like gzip, bzip2, or xz to create compressed archives.

Advantages

  • Preserves Unix file permissions, ownership, symbolic links, and timestamps
  • Standard archival format on all Unix and Linux systems
  • Extremely simple and reliable format with decades of proven use

Limitations

  • No built-in compression; must be combined with a separate compression tool
  • No random access to individual files without reading the entire archive
  • No built-in encryption or password protection

Common Uses

  • Linux and Unix software distribution and source code packaging
  • System backup and file archival on Unix platforms
  • Bundling files before applying compression with gzip, bzip2, or xz

Target Format

Gzipped Tar Archive

application/gzip

TAR.GZ (also written as .tgz) combines the TAR archival format with gzip compression, creating a compressed archive of multiple files and directories. This two-step process first bundles files into a TAR archive preserving Unix permissions and structure, then compresses the result with gzip. TAR.GZ is the most common archive format on Unix and Linux systems.

Advantages

  • Standard archive format on Unix/Linux with universal tool support
  • Preserves Unix file permissions, ownership, and symbolic links
  • Good balance of compression speed and ratio for general use

Limitations

  • Cannot extract individual files without decompressing the entire archive
  • Less efficient compression than tar.bz2 or tar.xz
  • Not natively supported in Windows without third-party tools

Common Uses

  • Linux and Unix source code and software distribution
  • System administration backup archives
  • Open-source project release packaging

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about converting TAR to TAR.GZ.

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